Iris Harrison's Blog

Holiday Greetings

by Iris Harrison,posted Dec 20 2012 3:28PM

I had intended to blog when I got back from vacation because it was such a great week, spent in the sunshine and we had a relaxing wonderful time. But you know how Monday after vacations are...busy...catching up with things around work, and it was also time to get going on the holiday to do list. So I put it off until Tuesday.

I was sitting here at my desk when the first reports of the tragedy at Clackamas Town Center started coming in. At that point it was all we could do to just get through what needed doing and go home and wait for more news to come in. It was news we couldn't imagine hearing. Our dear friend and co-worker for 14 years was gone. How could this happen? Not Steve. No way.

Then the horror of what happened in Connecticut on Friday just brought us all to our knees.

This last Monday was the celebration of life for Steve Forsyth. He touched so many lives, and we heard so many stories about him as a son, brother, husband, father, and friend. Great stories. Simple stories. Funny stories. Steve was a great storyteller, so I'm sure the stories continued after the service as people went back to their homes, or to gather at the Corner Saloon, or on the way to the airport to fly back to places all over the country. People gathered to celebrate this man because he made a difference. He inspired, he mentored, and he made us laugh. He had so much more to do, and we all will miss him terribly.

We grieve for his family because he was a bigger-than-life-itself kind of man. Nobody can fill those shoes. But the thing I came away with after the service, was that it's now up to everyone who knew him to pass along the laughter, light and love that Steve gave to the world. Time to step up and be better people. Time to help and support others on that path. There was such a feeling of love from all who knew him, that I was no longer in despair, but lifted up.

Today I felt the need to write in this little blog. I don't care if nobody reads this, it's just something I needed to do. Mostly to remind myself to keep the light on. To shine in a dark place. To do what's needed. To be helpful and kind. To do this in honor of a friend who isn't here to do it himself.

It's on us now. I will gladly bear the task, even when tears are falling from my eyes.

Iris,
Reading all the stories of the 2 senselessly killed, and then finding out how much they brought to the world in love and kindness, it is doubly wrong. We are a community, and need to find ways to help each other. Let's be gentle with each other, and offer a helping hand.
And I still believe in the healing power of the airwaves.
Thank you for doing your part with that.

01/09/2013 3:11PM

Hanging on to good things

Yes, it's been work just remembering the good stuff that happens in the world instead of the other stuff.
Thanks for your support! I appreciate that more than you know.
Iris